Okami

While not in the hands of original Okami developer Clover Studios, Capcom's upcoming Okamiden for Nintendo DS looks like it's going to be a worthy successor.
The game picks up as a sequel to the original, following the...

Capcom released this gameplay footage of Okamiden yesterday and it's pretty much the cutest thing I've seen this week. Chibiterasu is just so pudgy and I love watching him scamper around. The video shows a little bit of...

I felt bad for all the DS games at E3 2010, especially Okamiden. How could any DS title possibly follow the unveiling of the 3DS? It just wasn't fair.
I hope that Okami fans (all 200,000 or so of you) are still willing to bu...

Papercraft scares me. The whole prospect of it is intimidating, even without my stupid fingers to clumsy things up. Delightful as the photos of finished products wind up being, thinking about what a torn mess the ones I make ...

Wow! Look at all this stuff you get with the "Legendary Edition" of Okamiden.
Japanese gamers will nab this insane collection of Okami goods for the 8,000 yen ($90) asking price. Inside the lovely collector's box you'll find ...

You don't need to have an appreciation for Okami, Okamiden, or even cel-shadery to get a kick out of these sweet statues. Crafted by Tomopop user Somakun, this lovely pair was entered into the Anime Expo 2010 Art Show -- I th...

My fiancée and I are rarely go to bed at the same time. I usually roll in there about ten or twelve hours after she does because of our work schedules. That's not really a problem, except that she's taken to curling up...

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is far from the religious games of old, nor does it have anything to do with the Amy Grant song of the same name. And I should know, as growing up in a religious household, I was more th...

With Clover studios having disbanded, some thought they'd never see a proper follow up to its 2006 PlayStation 2 classic, Ōkami. Ōkamiden, Capcom's upcoming Nintendo DS title set in the Ōkami universe, may just...

Ōkamiden seems like the perfect fit for the Nintendo DS, with its "Celestial Brush" mechanic that has players using the stylus to draw strokes in the game world to affect the environment and combat. It would also, many w...

Apr 20 //
Nick Chester[embed]171499:29223[/embed]
Ōkamiden follows the adventures of Chibiterasu, the young sun god offspring of Amaterasu, the now iconic wolf from the original Ōkami. Being a child, the ludicrously adorable little wolf cub simply doesn’t have the power of his older, stronger, and wiser parent. Because of this, in Ōkamiden he’ll need assistance, which comes in the form of a number of in-game characters which can be directed using the Nintendo DS touch-screen and stylus. In the trial version I played, the partner character on hand was Kumi, son of the arrogant, self-proclaimed warrior Susano from the first title. With Kumi on his back, I was able to move Chibiterasu around a gorgeous, hand-drawn-style 3D world displayed on the top screen by using the d-pad. Attacks are all mapped to a single button (which can be pressed repeatedly to string together combos), coupled with a jump button to further navigate obstacles. It wasn’t long before the game introduced how it uses the Celestial Brush, the bread-and-butter game mechanic of the series. By pressing L or R, a “canvas” version of the world moves down from the top to the touch screen. It’s here that you use the stylus as the brush in a way that you might already be familiar with from Ōkami. Circle a naked spot on a tree to make flowers bloom, cleave a stone in half to clear a path, or draw in an empty spot on a bridge to allow forward movement. The canvas can also be used in combat, stopping time and slicing multiple foes with one long brush stroke. But the Nintendo DS touch screen isn’t used only for the obvious Celestial Brush mechanic. Ōkamiden introduces a “Partner System” which allows players to guide teammates through obstacles and to solve puzzles. In the case of the trial, pressing X makes Kumi hop off Chibi’s back. By then using the Celestial Brush to draw a path (it appears as a red stroke), you’re able to direct your partner character through the world.
This can be used in a number of ways, the most obvious to trigger switches in the environment to solve environmental puzzles. In one, I had to direct Kumi across a cracked path, too weak to support the heavier Chibi; there he stood on a switch that created a bridge which Chibi could cross to a raised platform. I then had to guide Kumi to yet another switch which create one more bridge, allowing Chibi to move forward and join the young adventurer once again. Partners will also act intelligently, opening chests and returning items when guided with no additional instructions. While these are some of the simplest examples, it’s easy to see how this guidance system can lead to some clever (and likely mind-bending) puzzles further into the game. While much of the world of Ōkamiden will look at feel familiar, producer Motohide Eshiro notes that just because it’s based in the same world, that doesn’t mean you’re simply treading old ground. In addition to new areas, the game will feature some of the same settings from the original, with all new buildings and other places to explore. The game’s enemies, “Yokai” or demons inspired by Japanese mythology, may also look familiar as many are back and causing trouble in Ōkamiden. But each has been redesigned for the Nintendo DS, giving them a fresh look, and they will also be joined by a host of new demons in the final game. Sound great? It kind of is, and this is coming from a pretty big fan of the original. (And who isn’t?) There’s a catch -- Ōkamiden won’t hit North American shelves until 2011. Yes, that 2011. As in next year. The wait should be worth it, as Eshiro is aiming for more than roughly 20 hours of gameplay in Ōkamiden.

Fans of things that are good should be pleased to learn that Capcom is bringing Ōkamiden, the Nintendo DS follow-up to the PlayStation 2/Wii title Ōkami, to North America. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, as ...

While it pains me slightly to post this because it means Topher Cantler, a man cooler than the other side of the pillow, is not, I must. Episode 4 of The Journalism Show is here and the people need to know! In this episode G...

Good news for those longing to hear about a North American Okamiden release. Capcom has recently trademarked the game in the United States, all but confirming that the DS sequel to Okami will be hitting the land of the round ...

Hideki Kamiya, director of Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, and Bayonetta should be feeling pretty good right now. Bayonetta was one of best selling games in Japan this year, and chances are it will also do pretty well in...

So far, Capcom has been rather stingy when it comes to showing footage of Okami sequel Okamiden in action. Fortunately, that miserly attitude has been made up for with a nice three-minute trailer that looks absolutely bloody...

Um ... COOL. That is all I can say about these Okami-themed Vans, which are the latest project from the fine peeps over at Kyozo Kicks. Not only are the shoes beyond awesome, but I really like the sentiments in the artist's m...

I've been a sucker for Okami's art style since the very first time I laid eyes on it, and while all I personally own from the game is the beautiful official artbook, I've always hoped to get my hands on more. I had inte...

Okay, Okamiden, stop being so cute! No, I take that back! Hurt me with your cuteness.Yeah, so Okamiden is ridiculously cute. Chibiterasu, the main wolf pup hero works together with a human kid in the trailer as they take on b...

[As originally posted on Tomopop] Well, this was almost embarassing. Hamza pointed out to me the latest post on Kramez's blog over at Capcom-Unity, featuring these lovely Okamiden statues. Which, as it turns out, are life-siz...

Capcom is going to have some awesome new merchandise on sale at Tokyo Game Show next week. Everything -- from the T-shirts, lunch boxes, calendars and more -- all look pretty nifty! The merchandise is of course gaming related...

Everybody knows what happened to Okami. It was a critically acclaimed game by Clover Studios, but no matter how much respect and praise it won for its beautiful art style and interesting gameplay, the mainstream consumer didn...

Damn this game is cute. I know that's been said endlessly about Capcom's new Okami title for the DS, but I haven't said it yet, so I'm saying it now. It's f*cking cute. Look at the yappy little puppy, doin' stuff. Anyway, her...

It's not the size that counts, it's the cuteness of the puppy, and Okamiden has one adorable little doggy. Is it doggy or doggie? Who cares?We have a tiny collection of even tinier screenshots for your enjoyment this morning,...

Capcom has opened its Tokyo Game Show Web site and it's full of lovely things, chief among them being the first ever gameplay footage for Okamiden, the DS sequel to Okami that everybody with a soul is excited for. It's not mu...

Okamiden news is starting to flow like wine ever since Famitsu announced its existence. We had a load of details this morning, and now a full magazine scan has appeared online, revealing main character Chibiterasu to the worl...

By now you should all be well aware that Okamiden, a sequel to the critically acclaimed PS2 game Okami, is heading to the Nintendo DS. Now there's a whole wad of information for you to gorge yourselves upon like the greedsome...

Earlier this month, Capcom trademarked the word Okamiden leaving many to believe that Capcom would finally be making a new Okami game. Well, turns out it was true! Okamiden is featured in the latest issue of Famitsu and you ...

There have been rumblings as of late, regarding something called "Okamiden," which Siliconera first discovered upon poking through some of Capcom's trademarks. The company was found to own the rights to the word, an...

Uh, Capcom design people? We know you were probably in a rush to get Okami out, and it's a port, so maybe you think the majority of the game's inital sales have already come and gone, and you guys are really busy over there, ...

In order to make amends for the Okami Wii box art fiasco, Capcom is sending out replacement slipcovers to those who purchased the game. There are 3 covers to choose from, one being the box art you have right now (sans IGN wat...